This set covers reading organisation charts, delegation, communication barriers, choosing communication methods and comparing centralised with delegated decisions. All businesses and numbers are fictional and the questions are original. They go from easy to harder, and the last few ask for written judgements.
Work on paper first, write full sentences for the written questions, and then open each answer. Compare your reasoning chain, not only the final figure. The module overview is in organisation and communication.
Part A: organisation charts
1. Kedai Roti Harmoni in Kuching has an owner, Encik Lim, and 2 supervisors. The baking supervisor has 8 bakers. The shop supervisor has 3 assistants. State the span of control of each manager, the number of levels and the total number of people.
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Span of control counts direct reports only. Encik Lim: 2. Baking supervisor: 8. Shop supervisor: 3.
Levels: owner, supervisors, staff = 3 levels.
Total: 1 + 2 + 8 + 3 = 14 people.
2. A factory has 48 machine operators. Option A gives each first-line supervisor 4 operators. Option B gives each 8. How many supervisors does each option need? If a supervisor costs RM3,500 a month, how much would Option B save each month?
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Option A: 48 ÷ 4 = 12 supervisors. Option B: 48 ÷ 8 = 6 supervisors.
Saving: 12 − 6 = 6 supervisors, and 6 × RM3,500 = RM21,000 a month.
A short comment would add that each supervisor in B has less time per operator, so quality or support may suffer.
3. In a 4-level chart (director, manager, supervisor, operator), how many people stand between the director and an operator in the chain of command? If each person needs half a day to pass a message on, how long does the message take to arrive?
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The manager and the supervisor stand between them: 2 people. The message passes director to manager, manager to supervisor, and supervisor to operator, which is 3 hand-overs at 0.5 day each = 1.5 days.
Part B: delegation
4. Which of these statements shows delegation? Give a reason for each. (a) A manager tells a clerk to post 20 letters today. (b) A shop owner lets an assistant choose the window display within a RM200 budget. (c) A supervisor checks every step an employee does and approves each one first.
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(b) is delegation. The assistant has authority to decide the display, with a clear limit of RM200.
(a) is an instruction with no authority to decide anything. (c) keeps all decisions with the supervisor, so no authority has passed down.
5. Cik Aisyah spends 10 hours a week scheduling customer appointments. She delegates 60% of this to a senior assistant. How many hours does she delegate and keep? Who is still accountable if appointments are double-booked?
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60% of 10 = 0.6 × 10 = 6 hours delegated, so she keeps 10 − 6 = 4 hours.
Cik Aisyah remains accountable. Authority to schedule has passed down, but the manager still answers for the result.
Part C: communication barriers and methods
6. A supplier sends installation instructions full of technical terms. Of 8 new staff, 3 fit the part wrongly. What barrier does this suggest, what is the clue, and what percentage made the error?
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The barrier is jargon (technical language). The clue is that errors followed instructions written in technical terms.
Percentage: 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375 = 37.5%.
7. Head office plans a promotion that must start in 2 days. The message goes from head office to the regional manager (1 day), then to each branch manager (1 day), then to the shop staff (1 day). Name the barrier and say whether the message arrives in time.
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The barrier is too many levels. The message needs 3 days (1 + 1 + 1), but the promotion starts in 2 days, so it arrives 1 day late.
A faster option is a group message from head office to all branch managers on the first day.
8. A restaurant owner must tell 15 kitchen staff about a new food safety rule that must be kept on record, and must speak to 1 waiter about a private matter. Recommend a method for each.
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Safety rule: a short briefing plus a written notice for the kitchen, because the audience is small, the rule matters and a record is needed.
Private matter: a private face-to-face conversation, because the topic is sensitive and should not be seen by others.
9. A company must tell 60 staff about a new parking rule. A printed 2-page memo costs RM0.12 a page. Calculate the printing cost. Would you print it? Give one reason.
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60 × 2 = 120 pages, and 120 × RM0.12 = RM14.40.
A reasonable answer is to send it electronically as well, because the cost is small but the audience is all staff. Another reasonable answer is to print and display it, because some staff do not check messages. The case should decide.
Part D: judgement questions
10. Kopitiam Maju has 3 outlets. Every purchase needs approval from the owner and takes 2 days. Of 24 requests a month, 18 are under RM500. The owner considers letting outlet managers approve orders under RM500. What percentage of requests would managers decide? Give a recommendation with one condition.
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18 ÷ 24 = 0.75 = 75%.
Recommendation: delegate orders under RM500. Three quarters of requests are small, and a 2-day wait slows each outlet. The RM500 cap limits the cost of any one mistake. This works if managers are trained and the owner reviews the orders weekly, and it could change if errors rise.
11. A student writes: “Delegation means the manager has no responsibility, so a centralised business is always better because the manager stays in control.” Identify two problems and rewrite the answer in two sentences.
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Problem 1: delegation passes authority but not accountability. Problem 2: “always better” ignores the case, since centralised control can be slow and may not use local knowledge.
Rewrite: “Delegation passes authority for a task to a subordinate, but the manager remains accountable. Whether Kopitiam Maju should centralise or delegate depends on its evidence, such as the 2-day delay on mostly small orders.”
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3, mixing up span and levels: go back to reading an organisation chart.
- Questions 4, 5 and 11, delegation and accountability: review delegation in a concrete task.
- Questions 6 and 7, naming a barrier without a clue: return to identifying a communication barrier from evidence.
- Questions 8 and 9, one method for every audience: use choosing a communication method.
- Questions 10 and 11, one-sided judgements: work through centralised and delegated decisions.
A mistake log helps you see whether the slips are about counting, naming or judging. When a case adds cost or sales figures, the cash versus profit bridge and the ratios tool help you check the arithmetic.
If the same slips return after revision, our online one-to-one Business tuition is built around reading your written answers with you.